Mario Ochoa is the co-owner and Chief Strategic Officer for Sammis & Ochoa , a San Antonio-based public relations agency. A lifelong Alamo City resident, Mario specializes in strategic planning, media relations, copywriting and looking at the glass half-full.

Note: This is an mySA.com City Brights Blog. These blogs are not written or edited by mySA or the San Antonio Express-News. The authors are solely responsible for the content.

Live Life to the Fullest

My business partner, Tanya Sammis, recently lost her grandmother. Today’s post is dedicated to the memory of a kind, compassionate and loving woman, affectionately called, “Honey.” – Mario

Live life to the fullest. It’s a quote we have all heard and a goal we all wish to achieve.

My grandma, known more affectionately as Honey, achieved that goal for 85 years, 11 months and 14 days. She didn’t climb Mount Everest, run a marathon or break any world records, but her life was full – and she made the lives of everyone around her full, as well. Not just her grandkids, not just her family, not just her friends – but every single person.

She made bellies full. She baked the best monkey bread I’ve ever had in my entire life. And she passed on that gift to my mom and my sister. Thankfully, they have also mastered the monkey bread recipe. It will keep filling people’s bellies and putting smiles on faces everywhere. She baked for her neighbors, her co-workers, her friends – and probably even her enemies…though I don’t think she had any enemies. Other Honey favorites included apple fritters, creamed chipped beef, homemade ice cream and pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

She made hearts full. When we were little, with each visit to my grandparents’ house, my big sister and I would take donut orders each Saturday night. Honey would wake us up on Sunday mornings around 5:30 a.m. and take us on a big adventure to Dunkin Donuts. Kiera and I lived for it and loved it. We felt so special, and we felt like we were making everyone else’s day. Little did Honey know every time she let us in on this adventure – she was making our day and filling our hearts.

She made spirits full. My grandpa was one of the Deacons at St. James Episcopal Church. Honey was in the choir there. They were so loved by their church family, and it was so evident. Friends and churchgoers fed off of Honey’s positive disposition and strong spirit. She was always there to lend a helping hand. I learned about the strength, care and love of God from Honey. Thankfully, I’ve also been blessed enough to have parents, siblings and family members who are extremely strong in their faith. Honey lived out her faith every single day of her life. I am a better person and a stronger believer because of her.

She made minds full. I know this because I am fully aware of the intelligence that lies within my mom and my uncle. It is an insane amount of knowledge – and I’m sure Honey helped to cultivate it. I remember playing board games with her all the time when we were younger. We’d always play games that would educate us. “Monopoly” was one of them and a personal favorite of Honey’s was “Authors.” I’m also convinced that she always kept my grandpa yearning to know more – he would always carry around notepads writing stuff down all the time. Though I know he was a super smart guy, I’m certain he kept all those notes so he could stay in step with Honey.

Honey made lives full. Her personality, love, faith, patience, sense of humor and perseverance are all things I would love to emulate. We are all thankful and blessed for the time we were able to spend with her on this Earth before her departure to Eternal Paradise. Every person she came in contact with was left with a bigger smile on their faces. She was so sweet, so caring and such an incredibly special woman. I hope that every person I know has a Honey in their lives – and I hope that every person I know aspires to be a Honey.

In the week before she passed away, she hung on – she let her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren spend an extra week with her, share our time with her and love her. She made our lives more full – just in this past week alone. I am certain that Heaven did not become completely full upon her entrance, but I know her welcome party was full – full of friends, family and celebration. With each day that passes, I will celebrate her by living my life to the fullest.

Take the time to live your life to the fullest and make others lives full. You will leave the world a better place.

Tanya is the Chief Executive Officer for Sammis & Ochoa, a public relations agency. For over six years she has dedicated her career to the promotion of her clients and their endeavors.

Tanya’s experience includes management positions in public relations and the non-profit industry, in addition to community- and media-related work in the sports industry. She has managed public relations and event coordination accounts for non-profits including Eva’s Heroes, Hope4Heroes, and the International Society of Heart & Lung Transplantation. Some of her corporate accounts have consisted of the International Academy of Design and Technology, Sanford Brown College, the San Antonio Army Recruiting Battalion, and Smashburger.

Thank you for sharing your story of Honey’s love and life. A perfect reminder of what it’s really all about. Honey will be dearly missed, but how lucky for us all that a part of her spirit lives on in you.